Shoe form and holder



Jan. 27, 1942. c. DOERING 5 AL 2,270,936

SHOE FORM AND HOLDER Filed Dec. '26, 1959 INVENTORS.

bHA RLES DOERING. BERT J.SKOGLUND.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 27, 1942 SHOE FORM AND HOLDER Charles Doering and Bert J. Skoglund, Chicago, 111.; said Skoglund assignor to said Doering Application December 26, 1939, Serial No. 310,930

1 Claim. (01. l2128.1)

This invention relates to shoe forms and more particularly to self-adjustable shoe defining forms enabling the manual grasp and manipulation thereof for effective shoe holding, shaping, dying and cleaning purposes, although certain features thereof may be employed with equal advantage for other purposes.

It contemplates more especially the provision of a shoe form and holder that is readily adaptable for interiorly supporting a shoe while aifording the manipulation thereof in a manner which will permit more effective and convenient performance of various operations thereon.

One object of the present invention is to simplify the construction and improve the opera tion of devices of the character mentioned.

Another object is to provide a simple and inexpensive combined shoe form and holder to afford the manipulation of shoes for shining and form maintaining purposes during the non-use thereof.

Still another object is to provide a normally expensible toe cap and instep defining shoe form having an extended shank to afiord the manual Lil Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines VI--VI of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken through the spring and substantially along lines VIIVII of Figure 4.

The structure selected for illustration comprises a pair of elongated shanks I0 and I l stamped or otherwise shaped from sheet metal or similar material to provide hollow hand grasping members. The hand grasping members Ill-ll are, in this instance, of substantially arcuate cross-section to present smoothly curved exterior edges I2 and 13 that will becomfortable to the manual grip thereof as will appear more fully hereinafter. The shank members Ill-ll terminate upwardly, in this instance, in overlapping circular bosses or flanges I4 and i5, respectively, to serve as complements of each other in providing their pivotal joinder through the medium of a pin l6 that extends transversely therethroughv to'effect their inter-pivotal connection. The extremities of the pin 16 project beyond the exterior surfaces of an externally spaced circular bosses or flanges [4 of the member [0, the memgrasp thereof for shoe manipulation and shining bers l0l| being held against separation by purposes. swaging or otherwise forming rivet heads I! on A further object is to provide a self-adjustable the ends of the pin it to maintain the members shoe form of simple and inexpensive construc- I0-H in assembled pivotal relation.

tion. I In order to impart a spreading urge between A still further object is to provide a self-adthe shank'members llll I, suitable means such justable shoe form of simple and inexpensive as a coil spring [8 envelops the pin l6 within the construction in combination with a manually confines of the shank members l0|l so that grasping member to afford the manipulation thereof for shining purposes during the non-use thereof.

Still a further object is to provide a transversely expansible toe cap and instep shoe form that is of integral inexpensive construction.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of a shoe form and holder with a part thereof shown in section to clarify the showing.

Figure 2 is an end view in elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view in elevation of a modified embodiment of the shoe form and holder.

Figure 4 is a front view in elevation of a modified embodiment of the toe conforming member shown in Figure 1 together with a self-expansible toe feature.

Figure 5 is a side View in elevation of a device similar to that shown in Figure 3 and modified to render such expansible in the toe region.

the spring extremities I9 and 20 will engage and impart a spreading urge to the interior arcuate extreme portions of the shank members l0H proximate to the pivotal interconnecting pin it thereof. As a result, the hand grasping members ill-4| will normally possess a spreading urge to displace the member ID forwardly and the member H rearwardly within the limits of free movement between the shank member extremi'ties I l-l5 that are arcuately curved as at 2| and 22 for relative sliding movement therebetween to define an enclosed end therefor.

In order to render the hand grasping shank members Ill-ll adaptable to the purpose of manipulating shoes and affording the convenient shining thereof during non-use, the shank members lll-!i terminate downwardly in vamp and heel defining extremities 23 and 24, respectively, which preferably constitute an integral part of the shank members l0l I. In the present embodiment, the vamp defining shoe forming member 23 is provided with an upstanding arcuate flange 25 that is shaped to correspond with the general configuration of the toe cap portion of a shoe, it being a complement thereof to serve as a substitute for the toe of the wearer for which there is a general range in sizes.

The upstanding arcuate flange 25 extends upwardly in a. well rounded toe forming surface 25 which emerges upwardly in a hump 21 to serve as a complement for the instep of the wearer within a general range of sizes so as to render the vamp defining member 23 adaptable to a plurality of different sizes within the range of adaptability afforded by the spreading limits of the shank members ||l-||. To this end, the shank member I l terminates in a counter or heel defining member 24 that has arcuate sides 28 and 29 merged in a rearwardly extending heel surface 30 that is of less curvature than the sides 2829 that preferably constitute an integral part of the shank member The rearwardly extending heel surface 30 of the counter defining member 24 is preferably though not essentially provided with friction producing means such as a plurality of nibs 3| stamped or otherwise impressed to extend rearwardly to engage the counter or heel portion of a shoe in order to assure the effective engagement therewith to preclude or at least discourage any accidental removal of the counter defining member 24 from the heel of the shoe.

It will be observed that with the arrangement of parts above described, a very simple and readily adaptable shoe form has been provided that will serve as a complement of shoes within a wide range of size owing to the relative spread between the members 2324 which conform to the size of a shoe owing to the urge imparted by the spring l5. The toe or vamp defining member 23 conforms generally to the corresponding parts of a shoe within a wide range of size while this is also true of the counter or heel defining member 24 which serves the same purpose in conjunction with the counter or heel portion of a shoe so that regardless of the space therebetween, the members 2324 will fill out the shoe in which it is inserted so that it will conform to its intended shape and size and provide a medium through which this shoe can be grasped and maintained in any desired position for shining or similar purposes.

To this end, the shank members l0| project well beyond the upper edge of the shoe to afford the manual grasp thereof and enable shoe manipulation with ease and permit the attendants manipulation thereof for any desired purpose such as shining, lacing, and the performance of simple repair operations thereon. This is especially true on infants shoes where hand manipulation thereof precludes effective shining because of the obstruction offered by the hand in holding such in position. This is avoided with the use of the externally projecting shank members |0-|| that not only afford the ready insertion and removal of the members 2324, but also provide for the effective manipulation of the shoe without obstruction for shining, lacing or repair purposes.

Should it be desired to accomplish these functions without holding the members Ill-l in one hand, key slots 32, in this instance two, are stamped or otherwise provided in the rearwardly extending edge |3 of the shank II to enable ready attachment and detachment thereof to a wall or other member having threaded heads projecting therefrom. It will be observed, therefore, that this expedient afiords two free hands to manipulate the shoe and perform any desired function thereon within the dictates of commercial practice.

In the modified embodiment shown in Figure 3, the same general elements and contour are provided in the form of the shank members llJ-| l which terminate upwardly in curved ends 2 l --22 for interconnection through a hinge l6 attached to both extremities 2|-22' of the shank members |ii'-|l'. One part of the hinge l6 terminates downwardly in a curved flat spring member l9 that has an intermediate node 33 cooperating with the correspondingly shaped notch 34 provided on the inside of the shank member Hi.

The extremities 35 and 36 of the fiat spring member 19' engage the flat inside surface of the shank member l9 to impart a spreading pivotal urge thereto. This embodiment particularly lends itself adaptable to the shank members III-ll when made from wood, plastic material or other materials that may be molded or cast or turned to the desired shape and configuration. "The function, operation and use thereof is identical with that described in connection with the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, it being clear that the vamp defining member 23' and counter or heel defining member 24' may be sized to any general shoe conforming formation within the dictates of commercial practice.

In the still further modified embodiment shown in Figure 4, thevamp defining member 23" is slitted upwardly along a longitudinal median line thereof to provide a substantially inverted V- shaped notch 31 that terminates within the shank gripping member l8 so that the toe cap and instep defining portions 25"-26" and 21" will be transversely expansible to yield under the stress of a coil spring 38 that extends therebetween within the hollow interior thereof. In order to maintain the spring 38 fixed against displacement, the extremities 39 and 40 thereof are welded or otherwise securely anchored to the opposite interior surfaces of the vamp defining member 23 in order to impart a spreading urge thereto. In consequence thereof, the toe cap and instep of the vamp defining member 23" will adapt itself to shoes of different widths so as to expand such to their very largest possible shape in order to maintain the surface leather taut that is coincident with the full shape and desired configuration of a shoe within a wide range of sizes depending upon the dictates of commercial practice.

In the still further modified embodiment shown in Figure 5, a shoe form of the type shown in Figure 3 is also rendered transversely expansible in the vamp defining region 23 by resort to the same structural features shown in Figure 4. Because the shank members If] and I are slotted in this instance as described in connection with the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, a transversely coiled spring 38 is confined in a bore 4| that extends between the slitted sections of a vamp defining member 23 to retain such in position.

To this end, a bore 4| in one section of the vamp defining member 23 has a closed end ll which retains the spring 38 against displacement therefrom. The bore 4| is enclosed by means of a plug 42 threaded to engage the correspondingly threaded bore 4| to retain the spring 38 in position and to enable the exertion of a spreading urge to the slitted section of the vamp defining portion 23*. In all other respects the structure of the shoe forming member shown in Figure 5 corresponds with that shown and described in connection with the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3.

It will be observed, therefore, that with the structure described, a very simple and effective shoe forming and manipulating device has been provided that is inexpensive and affords the ready manipulation of shoes during their nonuse for any desired purpose. Then, too, the shape of the vamp defining member 23 together with the heel defining member 24 which are constantly under a spreading urge by virtue of the spring I8, imparts a continuous strain on the front, back and sides of the shoe disposed thereover. By maintaining taut the material which defines the surface of the shoe, effective cleansing is possible through the elimination of creases and irregular surfaces. When the cleansing medium has dried upon the taut surface of the shoe,

it is self-sustaining in its original shape. This is rendered possible by providing a combination shoe form and handling device embodying features of the present invention.

Various changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention specifically described without departing from or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention or any features thereof, and nothing herein shall be construed as limitations upon the invention, its concept or structural embodiment as to the whole or any part thereof except as defined in the appended claim.

We claim:

A shoe form comprising a pair of separable toe and counter conforming members shaped to generally conform with the interior of a shoe, said toe and counter conforming members being of tubular formation, spring means confined by said tubular toe and counter conforming members for imparting a longitudinal spreading urge between said members, each of said members having an integral upstanding tubular shank projecting substantially above the upper edge of shoes telescoped thereon to afford the manual grasp thereof for effective shoe holding and shaping purposes, and a pintle within the tubular interior of said confronting shanks for connecting said shanks at their upward free extremities to permit their full separation without offering any limit of obstruction to each other.

CHARLES DOERING. BERT J. SKOGLUND. 

